2000
#3,212
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,199
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.78
Uncommon Last name
Winchester
An English habitational surname derived from the city of Winchester, meaning "Roman fort of Venta Belgarum."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,789 Americans carry the last name Winchester. That puts it at #3,401 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.44 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 29,074 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Winchester surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Winchester with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
12K
1 in 29,074
Census rank
#3,401
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
10K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,281 bearers of the surname Winchester in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.44 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3401st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Winchester, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Winchester
The surname Winchester originated in England, with roots dating back to the 11th century. It is a locational name derived from the city of Winchester, which was an important urban center during the Middle Ages. The name Winchester comes from the Old English words "Wince" and "ceaster," meaning "winding" and "fort" or "town," respectively.
The city of Winchester was established by the Romans and served as the capital of the ancient kingdom of Wessex. It was a significant religious and administrative center, with the construction of the renowned Winchester Cathedral in the 11th century. The Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England, contains numerous references to individuals with the surname Winchester.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Winchester can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Hampshire from the late 12th century, where a person named Walter de Wincestre is mentioned. The variant spelling "Wynchestre" also appeared in medieval records from the 13th century.
Notable individuals with the surname Winchester throughout history include:
1. Thomas Winchester (c. 1610-1690), an early settler in Massachusetts Bay Colony and one of the founders of Muddy River (now Brookline), Massachusetts.
2. Elhanan Winchester (1751-1797), an influential Baptist minister and Christian universalist author from Massachusetts.
3. Oliver Fisher Winchester (1810-1880), the American businessman and founder of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, known for the renowned Winchester rifles.
4. James Winchester (1795-1859), a British soldier and colonial administrator who served as the fourth Lieutenant Governor of British Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) from 1848 to 1854.
5. Sir Benjamin Winchester (1596-1657), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Middlesex during the reign of King Charles I.
While the surname Winchester originated from the city in Hampshire, England, it has since spread to various parts of the world due to migration and settlement patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Winchester
Among Census respondents with the surname Winchester, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Winchester bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Winchester surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.1% · 7,726
- Black or African American15.5% · 1,595
- Two or more races4.5% · 461
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 307
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 96
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 96
Timeline
Historical Census data for Winchester
Winchester appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#3,413
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,480
+281 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 3.55
Rank movement Down 201 places
2020
#3,401
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,281
-199 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 3.44
Rank movement Up 12 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,212 | 10,199 | 3.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,413 | 10,480 | 3.55 | +281 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 201 places |
| 2020 | #3,401 | 10,281 | 3.44 | -199 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 12 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Winchester surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #3,413 | #3,401 | 0.4% |
| Count | 10,480 | 10,281 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 3.55 | 3.44 | -3.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Winchester bearers went from 10,480 to 10,281 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 12 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,413 to #3,401.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Winchester
FAQ
Winchester surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Winchester?
Name Census estimates that about 11,789 living Americans carry the surname Winchester. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 29,074 residents.
How common is Winchester?
Winchester ranks #3,401 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.44 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 10,281 people with the surname Winchester. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,789), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.44 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.44 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Winchester.
Has Winchester become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Winchester went from 10,480 recorded bearers to 10,281. That is a decrease of 199 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #3,413 to #3,401.
What does the Census say about the background of Winchester?
Among Census respondents with the surname Winchester, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Winchester in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.1% (7,726 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Winchester appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.1%), Black (15.5%), Two or More Races (4.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Winchester (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Winchester mean?
An English habitational surname derived from the city of Winchester, meaning "Roman fort of Venta Belgarum." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Winchester (3.44 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Winchester?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.